Jay-Z leads Grammy nods as hip-hop dominates

NEW YORK: Jay-Z led Grammy nominations Tuesday with eight nods, followed closely by fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar with seven, in a striking embrace of hip-hop for the music industry’s top prizes.
Jay-Z, who has won an impressive 21 Grammys over his career but has never before been nominated in a major category as a solo artist, is up for Album of the Year for his “4:44” as well as for both Record and Song of the Year.
“4:44” marked a return to music by the 47-year-old multi-millionaire after years focused on business ventures.
Lamar’s seven nominations came for “DAMN.,” an album which switched back to a more traditional hip-hop style after the 30-year-old Los Angeles native’s experiments with jazz, electronica and spoken word.
Bruno Mars, the fun-loving funk revivalist, also fared well with six nominations including Album of the Year for his “24K Magic.”
“Despacito,” the viral hit that tied for the most weeks ever on top of the US singles chart despite being in Spanish, was nominated both for Record of the Year, which recognizes the overall performance, and Song of the Year, which honors the songwriter. The Recording Academy, which consists of more than 13,000 music professionals, will vote to decide the winners who will be unveiled at the annual Grammys gala on January 28.
The ceremony will take place in New York, Jay-Z’s hometown, to mark the awards’ 60th edition after 14 years in Los Angeles. The industry was already set to honor Jay-Z at the pre-Grammy party thrown by music executive Clive Davis.
The awards mark the first time that the majority of nominations for Album of the Year, the most prestigious prize, hail from hip-hop.
The breakthrough comes after years of criticism about how little the entertainment industry recognizes African American artists.